Box with stock control tag and method of making the same



Jan. 3, 1939. c. L. CLAFF 2,142,470

BOX WITH STOCK CONTROL TAG AND METHOD OF MAKING THE SAME Filed Dec. 17, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet l aL.GZzff f Jan. 3, 1939. c. L. CLAFF 2,142,470

7 BOX WITH STOCK CONTROL TAG AND METHOD OF MAKING THE SAME Filed Dec. 17, 1955 2 Sheeis-Sheet 2 Patented Jan. 3, 1939 BOX WITH STOCK CONTROL TAG AND METHOD OF MAKING THE SAME Clarence Lloyd Claff, Randolph, Mass.

Application December 17, 1935, Serial No. 54,932

9 Claims.

This invention relates to a paper box of the type used, for example, for holding shoes. It also relates to a method whereby the box can be made with a stock control tag or ticket forming a part of the covering or finishing paper or the like constituting the wrapper of the box.

In my copending application filed on November 25, 1935, Serial Number 51,531, I have disclosed a box having a label a portion of which is unaffixed to the box and is removable along weakened lines. This removable portion of the label contains the stock number, size, width and price information .or any other data appertaining to the contents of the box which would be useful in preserving sales information for consideration when taking inventories and checking upon sales and the work of the sales department.

While the use of applied labels with stock control tags combined therewith is advantageous when filling small orders for boxes provided with the tags, it has been found in practice that the separate operation of applying the labels has added objectionably to the cost of the boxes when supplied in large volume. Therefore the present invention has for its object the production of a paper box wherein the usual wrapper of finishing or covering paper is suitably printed and made with the stock control tag as an integral part thereof so that when the webs of box board and paper are assembled, out into blanks and the blanks in turn set up into box form, each completed box thus produced will have a stock conrol tag as a part thereof without requiring the added step of affixing a label.

It is a further object of the invention to so apply an adhesive to one surface of one of the webs, that when the webs are pressed together they will not adhere in the area back of the tag portion, thereby leaving said portion free to be removed readily when desired.

A still further object is to utilize a portion of the inturned finishing edge of the covering paper as a tab which is concealed in the box when closed but which can be grasped easily to facilitate the removal of the tag portion from the wrapper.

With the foregoing and other objects in View which will appear in the following description, 50 the invention resides in certain new and novel details of construction and combinations of parts and in certain steps in the method hereinafter more fully described and pointed out in the claims, it being understood that changes may be made in the construction and in the method disclosed without departing from the spirit of the invention as claimed.

In the accompanying drawings the preferred form of the invention has been disclosed.

In said drawings Figure l is a plan view of a web of covering paper or the like cut to define blanks, the same being shown subsequent to the formation of weakened lines defining the stock control tags but prior to the application of an adhesive.

Figure 2 is a similar view showing a blank after an adhesive has been applied.

Figure 3 is a perspective view of the completed box.

Figure 4 is an enlarged section on line 4-4, Figure 3.

Figure 5 is an end elevation of the box after the tag portion has been removed.

Figure 6 is a plan view of a wrapper having a transversely extended stock control tag, the locaticn of the adhesive and the means for applying its being also shown.

Figure '7 is an end elevation of a completed box having a transversely extended tag shown partly removed.

The box covered by this invention is formed from a web of box board and a web of paper or the like. The box board is adapted to be shaped by the usual methods into blanks A, each forming the bottom, sides and ends of a box and to each of these blanks is adapted to be applied a blank B out from the web of paper or the like. This blank is shaped so as to provide bottom, side and end portions I, 2 and 3 respectively as defined by dotted lines in Figure 1. The blank B is somewhat larger than the corresponding blank A so that the edge portions 4 of the sides 2 can be turned over the corresponding edges of the blank A and the free end portions 5 of the ends 3 can also be turned inwardly over the corresponding edges of blank A.

Before the two webs are assembled one face of each blank B is printed and a portion of each end 3 is outlined by weakened lines 6 to define a stock control tag I on which may be displayed information useful in taking inventories, as, for example, the style, size, width, etc., of the article or articles to be placed in the finished box.

After the blank has been printed on one surface, a suitable adhesive, indicated at 8, is applied to the other surface except in the area or areas defined by the lines 6. The adhesive can be applied in various ways. For example the blanks can be fed to a mucilage applying roller C the circumference of which is equal to the length of the blank.

A film of adhesive can be applied in any suitable manner to the surface of the roller and those portions of the roller which would otherwise contact with the areas 1 of the blank can be cut away as at D so that mucilage will be transferred to all portions of the exposed surface of the blank B except the areas I mentioned.

Following the application of the adhesive the blanks A and B are brought together so as to adhere one to the other. This operation can be effected either before or after the box has been set up or formed and as there is no adhesive on either tag portion, said portions will be left free from the box board material.

The edge portions 4 and 5 are inturned in the usual way to provide the box with finished edges. These inturned portions will adhere to the inner surface of the box except where they are left free from adhesive adjacent to the tags. Here the free edge portions 9 will remain fiat against the box board material.

Boxes such as described are suitably marked on the tag portions to provide information rela tive to the article or articles to be placed in the box.

When a sale is made the free edge portion 9 of the stock control tag is loosened along the 'lines 1 as indicated by dotted lines in Figure 4 and used as a tab whereby the entire tag 6 can be pulled away from the covering material, thus leaving a space l9 at the end of the box through which the box board material will be exposed.

Thus when the box is replaced on the shelf it will be possible readily to distinguish the empty ones from the full ones. The removed stock control tag containing data relative to the sold merchandise, can subsequently be delivered to the bookkeeping department.

Instead of providing the covering material with removable stock control tag portions extending to the top edges of the end portions, said tags can be extended transversely of the ends as shown in Figures 6 and 7. In this modified form each of the blanks E is formed with weakened lines I! defining a tag portion I2 extending from one side to the other of the end flap I 3 of the blank. An adhesive M is applied to the imprinted surface of the blank except in the areas defined by the lines H and this can be done by passing the blanks across a mucilage transfer roller F of a length equal to or greater than the blank and having annular grooves G matching the areas l2 on the blank. Thus as the blanks E move transversely across the roller the mucilage will be deposited on all portions of each exposed surface except in the tag areas [2.

After this blank has been applied to a box board blank, either before or after the box has been set up, the tag portion I 2 will be left free from the box board and can be torn oiT readily, as indicated in Figure '7, when it is desired to preserve the data thereon following a sale.

While in the two forms illustrated it has been stated that the mucilage is to be applied to one surface of the covering material it is to be understood that, if desired, it could be applied by the same methods to the box board material and the results would be the same, the

box board being left free from adhesive in those areas coinciding with the tag areas on the covering material.

While the improvements have been shown and described applied to a box construction it is to be understood that they could, under some conditions, be incorporated in the construction of a box lid and the term box as herein used is to be understood as applying either to the body or the lid portion of a box.

What is claimed is:

1. The method of making a paper box which includes the step of defining a removable stock control tag on an integral part of a blank of covering material by means of weakened lines, and then aifixing said blank to the bottom, side and end portions of the box board material of the box, the area defined by the weakened lines being unaifixed.

2. The method of making a paper box which includes the step of defining by weakened lines on an integral part of a blank of covering material a stock control tag area having a free edge, and then afhxing said material to the bottom, sides and ends of the box board material of the box, the tag area being unafiixed.

3. The method of making a box from blanks of box board material, and covering material, which includes the step of defining an area on an integral part of the covering material by means of weakened lines, said area providing a removable stock control tag, applying an adhesive to the side, bottom and end portions of one of the blanks, and then ailixing the covering material to the bottom, sides and ends of the blank of box board material, the area back of the stock control tag being free from adhesive.

4. The method of preparing a covering material for use in paper box construction, which includes the step of displaying stock control data on one surface of the material, defining by weakened lines the area containing the displayed data, and applying the other surface of the material to an adhesive transferring element having a space in its surface coinciding with the defined area on the covering material.

5. A paper box including box board material providing the sides, ends and bottom of the box, and a covering material afi'ixed to the bottom, sides and ends of the box, there being weakened lines on the covering material defining a stock control tag portion thereof, said portion of said material being unafiixed to the box board material.

6. A paper box including box board material providing the sides, ends and bottom of the box, and a covering material affixed to the bottom, sides and ends of the box, there being weakened lines on the covering material defining a stock control tag portion thereof, said portion of said material being unaffixed to the box board material, said tag having a free edge portion.

'7. A paper box including box board material providing the sides, ends and bottom of the box, and a covering material affixed to the bottom, sides and ends of the box, there being weakened lines on the covering material defining a stock control tag portion thereof, said covering material having inturned edge portions affixed to the box board material, the stock control tag portion of said material having a free edge portion inturned to provide a tab within the box, said tag portion and its tab being unafiixed to the box board material.

8. A paper box including a folded blank of box board material and an outer blank of paper or like material affixed thereto, said outer blank having weakened lines defining a stock control tag portion thereof provided with a free edge,

one edge of the outer blank and its tag portion being inturned, that portion of the outer blank defined by the weakened lines being unaffixed to the box board material to provide a removable stock control tag having a free inturned tab.

9. A paper box including box board material providing the side, end and bottom portions of the box, and a covering material affixed to not less than two of said portions, there being weakened lines on the covering material defining a stock control tag portion thereof, said tag portion of said material being unafiixed to the box board material.

CLARENCE LLOYD CLAFF. 

